Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz intends to build his power as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert within ruling party Kadima, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Mofaz invited more than 200 supporters to light candles with him at Kadima's Petah Tikva headquarters on Monday in a show of force, against the background of the party's membership drive that ends in March.

Over the past few weeks, Mofaz's opposition to Olmert has intensified. Last Wednesday he visited Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and warned against Olmert's diplomatic path. He also recently joined a Knesset members' petition calling for Education Minister Yuli Tamir's resignation.